INFORMATION FOR BUSINESSES (MERCHANTS)
Customers who pay by debit or credit card spend more than people who pay with cash. They are not limited by the money in their wallets, so they can buy what they want, wherever and whenever they find it. Cash is time consuming, costly to handle, costly to bank and has associated security and theft risks. Card transactions on the other hand are secure and payment is made direct to your bank account for sales made. For foreign customers paying by card is more convenient than having to exchange cash. For all these reasons taking card payments will help your business.
ADVICE FOR MERCHANTS ON ACCEPTING CHIP AND PIN AFTER FEBRUARY 14TH
The chip and pin programme has released information for merchants following February 14th, In summary:
- Staff should not question the type of card - rather they should accept the card - insert into the chip reader and follow the instructions
- You should expect the card company to decline a transaction on a chip and PIN card when a PIN is not used
- If accepting a signature for PIN enabled cards it is at your risk and you should carry out the standard checks for signature strip card number etc
Full advice document to merchants (PDF - 488K)
Further advice document to merchants (PDF - 55K)
EFT-POS CARD PROCESSING SOLUTIONS
All of EFT-POS card processing solutions require you to have a UK Merchant account. If you already have a UK bank acquirer Merchant account then in most cases you will be able to use our solutions with your existing Merchant number. One exception to this is if you are wanting to process eCommerce transactions - i..e Card transactions that are carried out from your web pages on the internet (via our XML or Paypage facilities). UK acquiring banks require you in most circumstances to obtain a separate Merchant account and use this for all your eCommerce transactions. You should contact your acquiring bank representative or the helpdesk in order to confirm this. The other exception is Merchant accounts with Barclaycard Business (previously BMS - Barclays Merchant Services). If you are currently using a PDQ terminal or another system with your Merchant number then you will be required to obtain a new Merchant number for EFT-POS solutions - this is because Barclaycard Business only allow one 'manufacturer's' products on one Merchant number. Alternatively you can confirm to them in writing that you will cease using your current system/equipment on the installation of the EFT-POS solution.
OBTAINING A UK ACQUIRING BANK MERCHANT ACCOUNT
In the first instance your current bank will be able to help you by putting you in contact with their department or associated business that handles card acquiring services. If you have been established in business for 2 or more years you should not have any problems obtaing a Merchant Account - however if you are just starting up you may find that the bank will want you to have been trading for some time before giving you card services, or carry out a risk assessment (for which you will need to pay), or want to hold a 'cash bond' from yourselves. Note that you do not have to have your Merchant account with the bank that holds your current account. It is worthwhile approaching other acquirers as detailed below - they may offer you an account and may have better rates and charges.
PAYMENT CARD INDUSTRY (PCI) DATA SECURITY STANDARDS
If you are processing card payments, especially in connection with web or network based services where you are storing cardholder details, you should consult the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standards. More information...
